The waterfront was a source of income, freedom, and escapism for some, while it was a source of misery for others. For H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller (Ben Lyon) it was definitely a source of misery. He was a reporter for the local newspaper and he wanted nothing more than to break a story big enough for him to land a better gig back east. If he could just catch Eli Kirk (Ernest Torrence) smuggling Chinese into the country, then he could write his own ticket.
Joe discovered a dead Chinese man floating in the harbor one day and he knew it was connected to Eli, except he couldn't conclusively prove it. He'd needed to catch Eli red-handed, and to do that he'd need Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert), Eli's daughter. He would charm, flirt, and date her to gain her trust in hopes she would let slip any information he could use to catch Eli.
I had a big problem with this movie. Besides their use of the term ch*nk for Chinese and w*p for Italians, they totally downplayed the fact that Eli was a murderer.
In the very beginning he had a Chinese stowaway on his schooner. He told his men to tie an anchor around the Chinese man. Why? Because if the coast guard came he wanted them to throw him overboard and not float. In other words, killing the man was more important than going to jail.
When Joe brought the dead man to his newspaper office, of all places, there was never any consideration or concern given to the dead man just slung on top of a desk. The editor treated him as though he were useless refuse, not a human being who's murderer should be brought to justice.
And then we heard no more about it. A Chinese man was dead. Who cares? If that was the attitude of the people on the waterfront, then it was a miserable place and romance or not, this is a miserable movie as well.
Free on YouTube.
Joe discovered a dead Chinese man floating in the harbor one day and he knew it was connected to Eli, except he couldn't conclusively prove it. He'd needed to catch Eli red-handed, and to do that he'd need Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert), Eli's daughter. He would charm, flirt, and date her to gain her trust in hopes she would let slip any information he could use to catch Eli.
I had a big problem with this movie. Besides their use of the term ch*nk for Chinese and w*p for Italians, they totally downplayed the fact that Eli was a murderer.
In the very beginning he had a Chinese stowaway on his schooner. He told his men to tie an anchor around the Chinese man. Why? Because if the coast guard came he wanted them to throw him overboard and not float. In other words, killing the man was more important than going to jail.
When Joe brought the dead man to his newspaper office, of all places, there was never any consideration or concern given to the dead man just slung on top of a desk. The editor treated him as though he were useless refuse, not a human being who's murderer should be brought to justice.
And then we heard no more about it. A Chinese man was dead. Who cares? If that was the attitude of the people on the waterfront, then it was a miserable place and romance or not, this is a miserable movie as well.
Free on YouTube.